Arabic-Speaking Cop’s Retaliation Case Flushed

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CN) – It is too late for an exonerated police officer to cast his firing as New York City retaliation for exposing surveillance of Muslims, a federal judge ruled. Bobby Farid Hadid joined the New York City Police Department in 2002 and became a “master linguist” because he speaks French and multiple dialects of Arabic. Hadid was named a sergeant in 2007 and landed in the force’s Intelligence Division, tasked to interrogate arrestees who were “likely Muslim and/or of the Middle Eastern origin,” the Nov. 30 dismissal of his case states. Algerian-born Hadid sued earlier this year, claiming the brass started making things difficult for him in 2009 when he made waves by saying the NYPD is a law-enforcement agency, “not an espionage agency.” Between that incident and his firing in 2012, Hadid was reassigned to a less prestigious beat, indicted for perjury and ultimately convicted. A judge sentenced him to probation, plus a $375 fine, but a state appeals court reversed the conviction and dismissed in October 2014. Farid says he sued after Police Commissioner Bill Bratton refused to reinstate him despite that reversal. U.S. District Judge William Kuntz found Monday, however, that the clock started ticking on Hadid’s claims back when he was arrested in 2011. The 25-page ruling goes on to find that immunity shields Hadid’s investigators, and that none of his claims can survive. The NYPD has not returned a phone call or email seeking comment Tuesday.